Needham & Company upgraded Cadence Designs (NASDAQ: CDNS) from Hold to Buy with a price target of $16, saying the company can now meet or beat the 2014 consensus.

"The concerns we cited in out recent downgrade of CDNS shares - namely a premium multiple to SNPS and risk around the likely resetting of 2014 consensus estimates - have been addressed by the recent underperformance of CDNS shares vs. SNPS and MENT and a meaningful cut to 2014 Street estimates post the 3Q earnings call," analyst Richard Valera states. "We now believe CDNS 2014 consensus estimates are at a level that the company can likely meet, if not beat. As well, we see the potential for a new emulation release--most likely in late 2014--as a potential late-year catalyst."

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